The Cursed Duelist
by kazikamikaze24
Summary: There is a duelist who is known to inflict real injuries amongst his opponents. His reputation has left many duelists in the hospitals and their cards his to do with as he pleases. He seeks to simply be the best with the only person that cares for him, and their goal is to be the King of Games. He is the Cursed Duelist, and he is heading to Duel Academy.
1. Chapter 1

_Tears had stained the desk he laid over. Tears that fell due to his friend Osamu being in the hospital due to a duel they had. He wanted to win with his favorite card so badly. A card given to him by his father. A card that was more than just cardboard. It was his friend. She was his friend. His best friend, and he lost before he was able to summon her to the field. He should have been...what was the word his parents used...mature? Yes! He should have been mature about the duel, but he wanted to win so badly!_

_"Now...Now the kids around the neighborhood won't duel me!" He looked up from the desk, staring at the deck he scattered across him hours ago. His parents weren't home, as usual, so he had no one else to comfort him right now. To tell him that everything would be better after a trip to the hospital to apologize, or to take him out and buy him a few booster packs of Duel Monster cards to make him happy. No, he was all alone, as he normally was._

_"Jaden." A soft, comforting voice called out to him. He straightened himself and turned to see a tall, floating girl with long, spiky hair with purple skin. The right side of her hair was silver, whereas the left was purple, and the line between the two were separated by a large, yellow eye with a red iris. She had two colored eyes, with the right being orange and the left being green, and had two large, black wings with talons at the very tip. He didn't know how to describe the shape of her body, but knew that she had beauty within her. Something about her drew him to her, and made her so special to him._

_"Yubel..." He stood up and clung to her body with renewed tears. She placed her hands upon his back and began to rub it, enacting a warmth that only she could provide. "Why...Why don't the other kids trust me anymore? Why are they so afraid of me? They wouldn't be afraid if I was Seto Kaiba or Yugi Muto wanting to duel them, but they're terrified! I hate this!"_

_"Shhh...Shhh...It's okay Jaden. They're simply playing a different game with you." Jaden looked up at her with blurred sight. A different kind of game? Why did it hurt so badly if it was a game then?_

_"Why...Why play-"_

_"The game they're playing is to crush your potential as the best duelist in the world. The next King of Games Jaden!" Yubel shouted, making him flinch. This flinch made her widen her eyes and pulled him in for a hug. This was her way of apologizing. A way that he enjoyed feeling each and every time. "They know that you're a smart duelist. They also know that your parents spoil you with cards from across the world, and don't want to lose to you, so they want to make you lose interest in Duel Monsters and hope that you won't ever play them again."_

_"Those no good losers!" Jaden stomped his foot in anger. Why would they play a mean game like that? He loved duel monsters! He even gave kids cards to help them get into the game, and this was how they repaid him? "Well I simply won't duel them anymore Yubel!" He nodded to himself. "There are plenty of kids in school, and the local park has kids from different schools I can duel against too. They won't keep me from getting my game on!" Yubel smiled at him as she began to rub his back once more._

_"That's a good idea honey, but..." Yubel lowered herself to her knees so they were at even eye level. "Do you want to hear a better idea?" Jaden nodded his head. Yubel was one of the smartest people he knew, so any idea she had was worth listening to. "I think you should make those losers duel you and win their cards. Their rarest, the most powerful cards they have, or even a card you like for an effect or its design. There is no need to be picky."_

_"But...Why would I duel against the people who don't want me to duel anymore? That doesn't make sense." A chuckle escaped her lips, causing him to pout. "What? It doesn't!"_

_"It's nothing. I forget how young you are my Jaden." A soft sigh came from her. Was she making fun of him again? He wasn't that young! "You would duel them to gain a reputation Jaden. A reputation like the King of Games or what Seto Kaiba have amongst the other kids. A reputation that will make you one of the best duelist in the city, and soon the world. Your goal_ is _to become the best duelist right?"_

_"Yea! I want to become the next King of Games Yubel! You know that!"_

_"I know Jaden. I certainly know that, but if we want to become the next King of Games we need to work on your deck, okay?" Jaden nodded, knowing that his deck wasn't much of anything but his favorite cards at the moment. He liked cute cards, such as **Beaver Warrior** and Yubel, and cool, awesome cards like **Elemental Hero Avian**, **Elemental Hero Burstinatrix**, or Yubel. Yubel had introduced him to cards like The Warrior Returning Alive to try making better use of monsters in the graveyard, but he was still learning how to create the perfect deck he would like to use. "So...Do you trust me Jaden?"_

_"Of course I do Yubel!" He shouted with a furious nod. "You're my best friend!" Yubel smiled and looked at his eyes. He felt a sharp pain in both of his shoulders, and heard distorted cries from behind him. What was happening? Why was he in pain?_

_"Then...**trust me**!"_

**_"AAAAHHHHH!"_**

"AHA!" The teenager known as Jaden Yuki shot up from his bed with sweat dripping from his body. It took a few minutes, but his breathing became regular, and he found his eyes locked on the deck-box that slept on the edge of his dresser. It was the deck that she, Yubel, slept in, and he had no problem leaving her there as he got out of bed and went to take a shower. It didn't matter how far he could go, from the other side of the house or to the other end of the world.

Yubel would always be by his side.

That would never change.

_'That dream though...I haven't had it in years.'_ That dream was when his life had changed for him. His friend, Osamu, was the only person from that time who stayed by his side after he got released from the hospital from that fateful duel. Though they would talk about Duel Monsters and would watch duel videos together, they never dueled one another after that day for a reason Jaden knew, despite it never being said. Osamu was afraid of him, and that helped him and Yubel seek out other duelists who began to spread lies about him. Lies about him being cursed and would always destroy whoever dueled him no matter the outcome of the duel. They weren't true, but they did eventually lead up to the title he was given amongst the community.

The Cursed Duelist. A duelist so powerful that duels came to life. Some said that he was marked by the Egyptian Gods to give them souls so they may become free from Yugi Muto's control. Others said that he bought the deck from a yard sale from an old man with a blind right eye and never saw the old man again. The rumors were silly, and most of them never made sense to him, but they didn't stop him from dueling with an ante against those he dueled. Rare, powerful cards such as the light purple **Dark Magician** card or** Raigeki** were only a few of the most powerful cards he had at his disposal form the ante duels he has been playing for years, and he had a feeling that his collection wouldn't stop growing.

That didn't mean that dueling was the only thing he focused on. Due to Yubel wanting him to be the very best human, he excelled in everything he could get his hands on. In terms of his education he topped mathematics, literature, was physically fit enough to last in a street fight without Yubel stepping in, and knew multiple languages. English was his favorite foreign language, but French and Italian had a certain charm he liked about them. He kept up on the world of politics and the most important news articles to seek any opportunity to show the world the power of his and Yubel's trust in one another.

His room was littered with the trophies, ribbons, and other forms of prizes that he collected over the years. His parents, who were still as busy as they were years ago, didn't know anything about the darker side of the duels he played in. They knew of his official duels at tournaments and such, which they were very proud of him, and would reward him with fried shrimp each and every time he won. Yet another reason for him to win those tournaments.

If he didn't win, then Yubel would punish him for not winning in the best ways she knew would work. Most of his key monsters would suddenly disappear, leaving him with only a third of his deck to use, which meant he would have to play with a sub-par deck he always kept on reserve. She would plague him with nightmares of nerve destroying pain like the which he would never wish upon anyone. Nightmares of Osamu dying in front of him. His parents being killed by crowds of angry parents. People beating him for the sake of showing their superiority.

It was only a fraction of what Yubel could actually do to him, and the reason he knew she could do those specific things was because she had already showed him those nightmares on separate occasions. It was why he had to stay the very best amongst the other students. If he didn't, then she would get to "educate" him again. Despite being thankful for all she done for him, it did nothing to stop him from subtly testing the limits between their bond to one another.

For example, when the deck-box was sealed tight, Yubel couldn't leave it as long as her card was in the deck. This allowed him to sleep without her influence and do daily actions without her adding in her opinion. She could send him mental thoughts if the deck-box was on his hip since it was attached to him at that point, but she couldn't interact with the physical world as long as she was in the deck-box. When she was free from it, then the chains were released, and her true power could be used without restraint. Well...without the normal restraints of course. He didn't want to think of...

"Ah, that's right, I need to leave." With a quiet mumble to himself, Jaden stepped out of the shower and looked at himself in the mirror. His brown, shoulder length hair was its normal messy fluff that refused to be tamed by any brush, He was thinner than most guys his age, and his pale skin made him stand out more than he would have liked. He put on the best clothes he could for Yubel's sake (a black short sleeve shirt with spikes that represented the ones upon Yubel's shoulders, and a pair of black and grey pants with spikes along his legs), and quickly brushed his teeth before getting the rest of his stuff ready. With his shoes on, duel disk bound on his left arm, and a small shoulder bag filled with random items prepared, he grabbed his deck-box and opened the seal.

"Good morning to you sunshine..." Yubel appeared in a transparent haze before him with a yawn and a stretch of her figure. Her wings stretched as well, but Jaden had to bend away from her before the right wing clipped his head. "So, my little champion, are you ready to show those examiners what we're made of?" He flicked his nose with his thumb and smirked at her.

"You know I am Yubel. I'm ready to get into Duel Academy and show the world what we're made of on a grand scale!" Everyone in the world knew of Duel Academy, created by Seto Kaiba to ensure that the game Duel Monsters stayed a hit and would prosper for years to come. If you graduated from the school, you were ensured at least several contract offers for promotion across the globe, and that was if you were on the Slifer Red level. The lowest of the low! Who knows what type of recognition could be obtained from graduation if he was a Ra Yellow or an Obelisk Blue?

"So, what are we waiting for?" The two said in unison. With that, Yubel disappeared, allowing Jaden to go downstairs for the lunch he prepared for himself last night, and locked the house before jogging to the examination hall that was being used by Duel Academy for today. It was currently 11:24 A.M., which meant that he would be early to get registered and be able to see what his future competition might be like. Heck, he might even be able to duel against an examiner with a reputation instead of some run of the mill duelist.

_'Wait! What is this?'_ Jaden paused, glancing around the park he stopped in, and _inhaled_. The amount of duel energy within this park was astronomical! It was enriched by someone who must be a seasoned duelist. Maybe even a tournament winner! The cards within that duelist's deck must be powerful, and the duel itself would be amazing...

_'No Jaden.'_ Yubel's voice cut through his thoughts. Damn, he forgot that she was currently on his hip at the moment. _'You have better things to worry about than someone who might be long gone right now. Plus, think of all the other duelists who will sustain our hunger for duel energy on the island? That will be a feast for kings!'_

_'Yea Yea...Still, couldn't we at least see who the guy is?'_

_'No.'_

_'You're no fun.'_

* * *

><p>Getting to the examination building early didn't reward him with an early spot for dueling. Apparently there was a long list for duels already lined up, which made no sense to him. He figured that rich kids in the area reserved the opening positions, but didn't care enough to let it ruin his mood. Instead, he sat on one of the bleachers and watched the other candidates duel.<p>

To be honest, most of them weren't even worth his time.

Those who won their duels rather quickly barely put out any duel energy for him and Yubel to passively consume. They used some interesting cards to win, but nothing that struck him as something to claim as his own. There were a series of duels that were pitiful and weren't worth watching in the slightest. If they somehow passed the exam, they would become Slifer Reds for sure. Nothing was note worthy to him. Was everything he heard about from Duel Academy one big lie? Was the school funded by Seto Kaiba a waste of his time?

"Ah, I haven't seen you duel yet." Jaden looked up to see a duelist with short, black hair behind him, and nodded to him. He was one of the few duelists to finish some time ago with a **Ring of Destruction** to end the duel between him and his examiner. "My name is Bastion Misawa, and you are?"

"Jaden Yuki. You play an interesting style." Bastion snickered as he took a seat next to him. The duel energy he produced was interesting, though what caught Jaden's attention were the two smaller streams of duel energy that flowed from Bastion's waistline.

"Thanks for the compliment, but I assure you that it wasn't my best." As if Bastion could sense the flow of duel energy, he moved his hands to the source of the alternate streams of duel energy, and pulled out two deck boxes. "I didn't know what to expect today, so I brought with me two additional decks with their own personal formulas for success. I'm kinda hoping to test them against some of the duelists from the Academy that are watching the new recruits, such as the Kaiser."

"The Kaiser?" Bastion nudged his shoulder to the left, making Jaden turn to see a tall, pale teen with long, dark blue hair wearing an Obelisk blue uniform. He looked at the duels in boredom, unlike the blonde girl who held an interest. The two seemed to be talking amongst themselves, but Jaden stopped caring for that moments after. The sheer amount of duel energy coming from the Kaiser made Yubel stir from his deck-box, and he couldn't blame her. How delicious that duel energy must be!

"I take you have never heard of the Kaiser Ryo? He is considered to be the elite of the elite duelists at Duel Academy. To be able to duel him you must be able to defeat the best of Duel Academy, and I've heard that the one who runs the Obelisk Blue dorms is picky about who gets to duel those elite. I've also heard that the guy who runs the Obelisk dorm hates Slifer Reds, so if you end up as one, then you should wait until you've risen to the Ra Yellow dorm to start dueling those elite." Jaden returned his attention to Bastion and raised an eyebrow. Was he assuming that he, Jaden Yuki, was going to become a bottom of the barrel Slifer?

"Sounds like you think I'm going to become a Slifer Bastion." Bastion's eyes became extremely wide as he shook his head.

"No, not at all! I mean, I didn't mean to make that assumption!" Bastion coughed into a fist to collect himself. Before he could continue talking a short teen with long, light blue hair that spiked outwards instead of going down, and wore small glasses slumped over a chair next to Jaden. The teen looked exhausted, and Jaden recognized him as one of the duelists who barely won his examination.

"They're not pulling any punches in these examinations are they?" Jaden chuckled at the question, which was matched by Bastion. This seemed to catch the blue haired teen's attention, for he straightened himself and looked at them. "Not to mean that they were too tough! I was caught unaware at the level of decks they would use for the examination is all..."

"No need to freak dude." Jaden replied with a wave of his hand. This stopped the blue haired teen from speaking any further, and made him relax from the looks of it. "I didn't get much of a chance to see what you were playing. Something with machines right?"

"Yea!" The teen smiled and rubbed his duel disk. "I play a Vehicroid deck, though I'm missing some of the key cards to really make it _run_. Heh, get it, _run_, because my deck is based on vehicles that-"

"We get it." Jaden and Bastion said at the same time, causing all three of them to snicker. The blue haired teen brought out his right hand to Jaden.

"My name is Syrus. Syrus Truesdale, and you are?"

"Jaden Yuki."

"Bastion Misawa, but did you say your name was Syrus Truesdale?"

* * *

><p>Unknowingly to Jaden and the two duelists he was talking with, a small group of teachers were surrounding the one in charge of this examination. He was Dr. Crowler, an individual many couldn't agree on. Some call him Mrs. Crowler due to him wearing his blond hair in a pig-tail, wore crescent earrings, and had lipstick, whereas others think he is the worst teacher due to his strict nature with anyone who wasn't an Obelisk Blue. There were many things said about Dr. Crowler, but students from all three dorms knew of the Dark Age deck known as the Ancient Gears that he used.<p>

"Are we close to finishing this examination up everyone? I don't want to stay near these rifraff any longer than I absolutely must!" One of the teachers, a new assistant teacher if Dr. Crowler remembered the staff meeting clearly, flipped through their clipboard and froze at the last document. "Yes? What is the hold up!" The assistant took a step back and handed him the clipboard.

"The last applicant, number one-one-zero Jaden Yuki, is a local legend in this city Dr. Crowler." This caused him to pause and turned to the assistant. She looked as if she had seen a ghost, or woke up from a nightmare.

"A local legend you say? Can you tell me more about this hotshot?"

"He," the assistant gulped and shook her head, "he is known as the Cursed Duelist due to various reasons sir. He can bring the damage inflicted in duels to life, and is known to duel in unofficial duels with an ante rule in place." Dr. Crowler scoffed at what he was told. The Cursed Duelist? More like some ruffian who probably stole the cards he used to get here. He wouldn't let such people step upon the high class school known as Duel Academy if he could prevent it! As he stood up, one of the other teachers turned to him with a box of test decks they were supplied to use against the applicants.

"Sir? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to duel this last student myself." This statement made the other teachers take a step back in shock and looked at the clipboard that was handed back to the assistant.

"But sir, what about the test decks?"

"I'll handle that myself."

"Sir." This time it was the assistant who spoke up. Dr. Crowler turned to her and saw her stare at him with a lost expression. "Please don't take what I said lightly. One of the kids he hurt was my younger brother, and he hasn't been the same since he woke up in the hospital from that duel he lost. So, please sir... Show no mercy." Dr. Crowler smirked at her.

"I'm a doctor dear. We don't show mercy to our patients!"

* * *

><p>"Will applicant number one hundred and ten report to the main duel field? I repeat! Will applicant number one hundred and ten report to the main duel field?" Jaden stood up with a smile upon his face.<p>

"Alright guys, that's my call!" Jaden did a flip to get behind Syrus and Bastion, making the two stare at him with widened eyes. He imagined it wasn't normal for any duelist to be physically fit, but then again when was Jaden Yuki ever normal? "I'll be seeing you two at Duel Academy!" As he walked away, he heard Bastion ask Syrus for his last name again, but that was quickly forgotten since it was now his time to shine! He would be dueling against some examiner and proceed to enter Duel Academy to become the most powerful duelist in the world. The next King of Games!

_'Remember Jaden,'_ Yubel spoke to him, _'Don't use everything at your disposal if you can help it. We want to keep our best plays secret until we absolutely have to use them, and I refuse to be fully displayed to anyone but the best Jaden dearest.'_

_'I know Yubel...I know.'_ Jaden, after a few minutes of getting lost, found his way to the dueling field where his examiner seemed to be waiting for him. His examiner was tall with short blond hair that stopped around his eyebrows, but had a long ponytail tied behind him. He wore an Obelisk Blue affiliated uniform with a Duel Coat, a very expensive item which had the duel disk on the front of the body and had sensors to detect when a duelist was ready to start their turn, and had crescent earrings.

To be completely honest, Jaden didn't know if his examiner was really good, or the academy's mascot that they put up against who they thought would be the weakest duelist. The very thought of him, Jaden Yuki, being considered weak annoyed him to the core, and made him want to get started right away. When he got close enough to the examiner, the examiner began to talk.

"Welcome to the arena Jaden Yuki. I was unaware that we had a celebrity amongst the recruits!" This made Jaden stare at the man with interest. Did he do some research on the applicants, or did he just find out through passing? Jaden could hear the other applicants talking amongst each other, and he couldn't help but to smirk at the man in front of him.

"I take it you've heard of me then?"

"Yes," The man nodded, "The...Cursed Duelist was it not?" It was then that he grabbed his deck and slid it into the Duel Coat. A nasty, furious expression came from the examiner. An expression that Jaden had seen hundreds of other times. "I'm appalled that someone like you, a thief and a ruffian, would DARE try and grace Duel Academy with your filth! Stealing cards from other duelists, beating them up if they refuse to duel you, and-"

"Woah, hold the phone there ugly!"

"U-U-UGLY!" The man interrupted with a shout. If Jaden didn't know any better, a bolt of lightning struck the ground behind the man. "I am _not_ ugly!"

"And I'm not a ruffian, a thief, or a bully, but you don't see me shouting like some sissy!"

"You certainly lack manners, and I, Dr. Crowler, will be the one to give you a lesson in how to treat your betters with respect you ruffian!" Jaden activated his duel disk, and a series of disgusting sounds was made, either from the crowd or from his duel disk, as it unfolded itself. The center of the duel disk was blue with the eye of Horus looking straight at Dr. Crowler, who shivered at the sight. The duel disk itself was mostly brown with purple flesh connecting everything together and each card slot, which was in the shape of a bat wing, was separated by talons. With the graveyard being a black void with teeth surrounding it, the deck slot being guarded by two talons, and a red glowing orb near the eye of Horus, some could easily say that Jaden's duel disk was...alive.

"You're so mean doctor." Jaden playfully said as he drew his opening hand, and smiled at Dr. Crowler. "I'll just have to change your view of me...with pain!"

"Lets Duel!"

Jaden: 4000 Dr. Crowler: 4000

"I'll start things off if you don't mind!" With a sixth card in hand, Jaden glanced at Dr. Crowler before activating a card. "I hope you're not too attached to your hand, because I activate the spell card **Hand Destruction**!" A small, orange samurai wearing silver armor appeared and slashed at the ground around Dr. Crowler, making the man jump away from the swings. Fortunately for him, there was no damage to the field around him.

"Heh, no damage was done to the ground you ruffian. So the rumor about you bringing damage to life is nothing but a hoax!" Jaden picked the two cards he wanted and sent them into his graveyard, showing that he either didn't care for what Dr. Crowler said, or didn't listen to him.

"Each player sends two cards from their hand to the graveyard, then we each draw two cards from the deck. Whenever you're done wasting my time, I'll continue with my turn."

"Ugh!" Dr. Crowler groaned as he picked two cards and forced them into his graveyard. As they drew their new cards, the blond glared at Jaden. "I wasn't attached to anything, and neither will your reputation be attached to you after I make quick work of you!"

"All that bark, but I doubt you can match it with your bite. Regardless, I set a monster and a card before ending my turn."

"Pfh, that's what you call a turn? Some dumped cards and some set cards? You're certainly not that menacing! Draw!" Dr. Crowler drew his card and grinned. "And now I'll start things up by-"

"Actually, I'm activating my trap card **Reckless Greed**!" A purple card of some greedy man preparing to jump into a treasure chest with a snake slithering through it appeared on Jaden's side. "In exchange of skipping my next two draw phases, I get to draw two cards right now." With two new cards joining Jaden's hand, he waved to his opponent. "You can continue now."

"Why I never! UGH!" Dr. Crowler stomped on the ground before setting two cards. "I now activate **Heavy Storm**, destroying my two **Statue of the Wicked** cards!" A giant whirlwind destroyed Dr. Crowler's cards, and in their place two yellow serpents with four red eyes and wore odd jewelery appeared on his side of the field.

2x Wicked Token (Fiend Type/Dark/Level 4/ Atk-1000 Def-1000)

"However, they won't be staying on my side of the field for long as I'll be using them as tributes for my legendary **Ancient Gear Golem**!" A gigantic, armored humanoid automaton appeared in front of the doctor with an emotionless stare focused on Jaden's set monster.

**Ancient Gear Golem** (Machine Type/Earth/Level 8/ Atk-3000 Def-3000)

"Now I'll attack your set monster with Mechanized Melee!" **Ancient Gear Golem** struck the set monster with its gigantic fist, only for hundreds of white bandages to wrap around the mechanized golem with a bandaged figure wearing brown pants to appear amongst them.

**Grave Squirmer** (Fiend Type/Dark/Level 1/ Atk-0 Def-0)

"Since you destroyed my monster, its effect activates." Jaden calmly responded as he pointed at **Ancient Gear Golem**. "Since it was destroyed by battle and will be sent to the graveyard, I can target one card on the field, and destroy it. Obviously, my target shall be your **Ancient Gear Golem**!" Both monsters suddenly disappeared in a swirl of bandages, revealing an empty field to the crowd. This got everyone talking or cheering for one reason or another. Responses that angered Dr. Crowler to the point of his face turning pink.

"E-E-Even so, my **Ancient Gear Golem** has piercing, which means that you're down to a measly 1000 life points, and I'm no where near finished with my turn!"

Jaden: 1000 Dr. Crowler: 4000

"Before I end my turn I shall activate the powerful spell card known as **Monster Reincarnation**, allowing me to send a card to the grave in order to bring my **Ancient Gear Golem** back to my hand!" The mighty golem of technology reappeared by Dr. Crowler's side for a brief moment before disappearing. "In a turn I'll bring back my Ancient Gear monster without any hesitation, so what shall you do now Jaden Yuki? Are you going to hurt me before I defeat you like the ruffian you are?" Dr. Crowler's words made the sense of victory bleak for Jaden from the crowd's perspective. Jaden was sure that, if he was someone watching the duel, they would have little fate in whatever Jaden could do from this point.

Fortunately for him, he knew that this duel was his no matter what.

"Are you done?"

"Grrr, yes!"

"Finally," Jaden said impassively, "since I activated **Reckless Greed**, I must skip my draw phase, but that is no problem. I'll set two cards and end my turn." Dr. Crowler laughed as he drew his card for the turn. This was the ruffian that obtained the title of Cursed Duelist in this city? This was the scum that frightened the assistant? This boy was nothing compared to him!

"You're nothing but a waste of space Jaden Yuki, and I'll prove that by defeating you here and now!" With a new card in hand, he could proceed further. I'll now activate the spell card known as **Double Summon**, which allows me to normal summon twice this turn! I summon the ancient technology known as **Chronomaly Mayan Machine** (Machine Type/Earth/Level 3/ Atk-1500 Def-700), and use it to summon **Ancient Gear Golem **since it acts as two tributes for Machine Type monsters! Now, **Ancient Gear Golem**-"

"I activate **Call of the Haunted**, allowing me to special summon **Yubel** from my graveyard to the field!" Yubel, his best friend, most trusted person, and guardian, appeared on his side of the field without delay. She smirked at Dr. Crowler as she stood right in front of Jaden, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

**Yubel** (Fiend Type/Dark/Level 10/ Atk-0 Def-0)

"Hahahaha!" Dr. Crowler laughed, as did a small amount of the crowd. Jaden understood why they would laugh. They weren't the first to laugh at the presence of Yubel due to them being...uneducated in how she worked. They would learn though. They would all learn not to underestimate her!

_'And Dr. Crowler would be the first to learn this lesson.'_ "What's so funny you asylum patient?" Silence reigned the room as Jaden's words took time for everyone to digest. Dr. Crowler was the first to get over the pure shock that took him, and anger fueled him to get rid of this punk from his sight. The sudden boom of laughter from most of the audience didn't help his decision either.

"Your weak monster won't help you, especially with its zero attack! Go, my **Ancient Gear Golem**, show him what a TRUE monster looks like with your mechanized melee!" Jaden did nothing but smirk, an action Yubel mirrored, as she took the punch to her body. In that instant, Dr. Crowler gasped and fell upon his knees with his arms wrapped around his ribcage. The sheer shock of pain Dr. Crowler must have felt pleased Jaden more than it should, but it felt oh so right to see.

"Confused?" Jaden asked as the sound of life points depleting occurred. "Yubel can't be destroyed by battle, nor do I take battle damage with her. While she is in attack position, you take any battle damage I would have taken equal to your monster's attack, and with **Ancient Gear Golem** having three thousand attack, we're now back on equal footing aren't we?"

Jaden: 1000 Dr. Crowler: 1000

"What...Did you do to me...You barbaric ruffian!"

"I did nothing Dr. Crowler. You can thank yourself for blindly attacking into Yubel like that. Not me. Now then, do you end your turn?" Jaden watched in hidden glee as Dr. Crowler struggled to stand. Though the blond did eventually stand, he looked exhausted and seemed drained of the anger he had moments ago. Was it now replaced by fear, or perhaps caution? What could Dr. Crowler be thinking with Yubel now in front of him?

The possibilities excited him!

"Since you haven't done anything, I assume that it is my turn, and skip my second draw phase, meaning that after this turn I can draw from my deck again. Not that matters since I activate **Pot of Greed**!" A gigantic green pot with a smiling face on its side appeared, and laughed as Jaden drew two additional cards from his deck. Jaden glanced down at the cards he drew, and simply nodded at the results. "I normal summon **Sangan** in attack mode, set one card, and end my turn." As the small, three eyed monster appeared on Jaden's side of the field, Yubel picked it up and transformed it into a sphere of duel energy before swallowing it whole. Many disgusted sounds came from the crowd, but Jaden ignored them in preference to keep his attention on Dr. Crowler. The blond glared at Yubel for a moment before facing him.

"In order for your monster to stay on the field, you must tribute a monster each of your turns, don't you?" Jaden smirked as he slid **Sangan** to his graveyard. At least Dr. Crowler could be smart...at times.

"Correct, but this instance is helpful since **Sangan's** effect activates, allowing me to add a monster with 1500 or less attack from my deck to my hand before my turn officially ends." Dr. Crowler said nothing as he drew his card, which was the perfect time to activate the card that would seal the doctor's fate this duel. "Since your draw phase is ending and we're entering your standby phase, I can activate the trap card known as **Battle Mania**!"

"N-No!" Dr. Crowler shouted as an aura of fire consumed **Ancient Gear Golem**, making it slap its chest in pride. Jaden, who knew what was going to happen, laughed and proceeded to explain what the card did, if only to see the despair form on Dr. Crowler's face.

"All face up monsters you control Dr. Crowler are changed to attack position, and can't change their battle positions this turn. Also, all monsters you currently control must attack this turn, if able. So, Dr. Crowler, can you suddenly not attack, or is this my win?" As Dr. Crowler looked down, Jaden's smirk grew at the sight of a defeated man right before his very eyes. At least, until he realized that Dr. Crowler had slipped a card into his duel disk and the sound of a card activating caught his attention.

"You won't win this duel Jaden Yuki! I activate **Dark Hole**, which destroys all monsters on the field!"

"Jaden!" Yubel shouted as she and **Ancient Gear Golem** became consumed by the void. Jaden said nothing as he placed Yubel in the grave, and watched as Dr. Crowler grinned like a madman at him.

"You lose, Jaden Yuki, and here is how you lose! I normal summon my **Ancient Gear Knight**!"

**Ancient Gear Knight** (Machine-Gemini Type/Earth/Level 4/ Atk-1800/ Def-500)

A smaller, more soldier-like copy of **Ancient Gear Golem** appeared, though its right hand was replaced by a jousting spear, and the left arm was a metal shield shaped like a spear. Its spear was pointed at Jaden, and its red eye shined to life seconds after Dr. Crowler made a motion with his right hand.

"Attack him and end this duel my **Ancient Gear Knight**!" As the mechanical knight charged forward, Jaden pressed a single button, activating the remaining set card he had, and watched in glee as Yubel suddenly appeared in front of him, taking the spear to her chest. Seconds after her appearance, Dr. Crowler grabbed his chest and fell to the ground once again, causing him to never see the card that made him lose the duel.

**Limit Reverse**.

"Game over." Jaden stated as he watched the holograms of the duel monsters disappear from the field with Yubel being the last of them. With **Limit Reverse** special summoning Yubel back to his side of the field in attack mode during the battle phase, Dr. Crowler's monster had no choice but to attack it, hence the win. Jaden walked over to the fallen Dr. Crowler, who had his hands pressed against his chest, and bent down to look at him. The small trace of blood seeping from the blond's hands made Jaden and Yubel pleased, but Jaden wanted to torment the man just a bit more. As their eyes met, and fear took over Dr. Crowler, Jaden whispered a single phrase to him.

"See you at Duel Academy professor."

-Author Note-

So, what exactly is this story about? This is a story about the what if of Yubel staying with Jaden after the duel with Osamu instead of being sent into space by the Kaiba Corporation, and continued their relationship for years. Though this Yubel wouldn't be corrupted by the Light of Destruction, would their relationship still be healthy, or twisted? What exactly has bled through from the past to the present other than the random moments that Jaden seems like a normal person? I have quite the bit of this story planned, but who knows what exactly will happen when I actually begin typing the chapters out?

Also, for anyone curious to why Yubel's name is only bold in few instances, this is due to Jaden seeing her as more than just a card. You may take that as you wish at the moment.

Either way, will Jaden become a Slifer Red, or will he become placed in a different dorm? What will happen when he and the others make it to Duel Academy? Will Dr. Crowler sustain any serious injuries from this duel? Find out next time on The Cursed Duelist!


	2. Chapter 2

_"W-What do you mean I must attack you?!"_

_"With **Battle Mania** active, monsters you control must attack this turn unless something prevents them. All face up monsters on your side of the field are changed to attack position and can't be changed back for the remainder of this turn." A young Jaden Yuki stared at the older teenager, sixteen most likely, as his **Gaia the Fierce Knight** (2300), **Goblin Attack Force** (2300), and **Command Knight** (1200 atk) were forced into attack mode. With **Command Knight** on the field Warrior-type monsters gained an extra 400 attack, making Gaia's attacking power 2700 and **Command Knight** 1600. With no set cards on his opponent's side of the field, a hand that was dropped to the ground revealing powerful monsters, and multiple cards set upon Jaden's own field, the match was quickly decided with his ace already upon the field waiting for the onslaught._

_Yubel._

_"Attack, you pathetic monsters!" Jaden shouted, cackling as **Command Knight** swung its blade upon Yubel, making his opponent scream as a gash suddenly appeared upon his right shoulder. **Goblin Attack Force** ran at Yubel with their spiked metal clubs in motion to crush her chest, only for the damage to be placed upon the opponent. The teenager's painful scream was outclassed by the neigh Gaia's steed made when they charged with his red lance primed for Yubel's heart._

_"P-Please no more!" The faint mutter of Jaden's opponent caught his attention for a split moment. The painful expression he wore with the injuries placed upon him would have made any other individual sick upon seeing. If Jaden was anyone else, he may have even fainted without failure or ran off to report the gruesome scene to the authorities. But for him, Jaden Yuki, the nine year old duelist, he simply waved his right hand as a hole exploded upon the teenager's chest, allowing for blood to splatter upon the duel disk as the opponent fell to the ground passed out from the pain._

_"Well that was a boring duel." Jaden muttered as he walked over to his fallen opponent and rummaged through the duel monster cards his opponent had on hand. The deck was themed around Warriors and easy to summon monsters that had high attack, some of which were Fiend monsters like **Goblin Elite Attack Force**, **Invader of Darkness**, and **Skull Archfiend of Lightning**. He took these monsters, as well as other cards that interested him, and stepped on the center of the duel disk, crushing it after a few attempts. Yubel had assured him that, since his duel disk was "unique" that Kaiba Corp couldn't track him, but he would rather be safe than sorry. With that done, he turned around, only to see Yubel standing behind him. "Something wrong Yubel?"_

_"You took too long to defeat him."_

_"I only took ten turns Yubel. You didn't reach my hand in time, so I had to stall with some other monsters. I didn't even touch his life points at all until you came to my hand!" This didn't seem to please Yubel if the frown on her face was any clue. If anything, she appeared even more upset now after hearing what he said._

_"If you really wanted me to your hand you would have called out to me with your entire being and I would have came to you. You simply didn't want me. Is this how you'll begin treating me Jaden? No longer wanting me?" Jaden clung to her waist and quickly shook his head._

_"I always want you Yubel! I'll always treat you the best I can! You're my best friend Yubel!" Yubel, for the first time Jaden could recall, pushed him away and placed her left hand upon his head. The cold, heartless stare she sent his way froze him to the ground._

_"Then you understand why I'm about to do this..."_

_"Yubel?" Jaden asked, unsure of what she meant. She sighed and kissed his forehead before clenching his head **hard**. "OW!"_

_"Then you understand why I'm going to share the pain you put me through Jaden. All because you wanted me to suffer right Jaden?" Before Jaden could say no and tell her how sorry he was, pain encased the little boy and the very essence of pain became his world. His vision was blinded with a red tint. His bones ached with a shivering fear he never felt before. But his chest, the very same spot where **Gaia the Fierce Knight** struck his opponent, left a hole that showed him his own rapidly beating heart. Yubel bent down and kissed his beating heart, making him feel a stinging sensation unlike anything a paper cut ever made him feel._

_"You make me feel all kinds of pain Jaden. Some pains I like, but others make me sad and cry out in misery. I'm using my powers to keep you awake during this moment Jaden." She hugged him, allowing for his tears to cradle down her neck. "I'm glad I can share my pain with you Jaden..."_

Jaden leaned out of his bed with his left hand upon the spot where he saw his own heart beating. That was the first time Yubel had ever shared with him her pain, and it served as the easiest form of torture Yubel could do to him. If she wanted to, she could make Jaden suffer the same pain the opponent would suffer the exact time it happened during the duel so she wouldn't have to feel anything. While Jaden was happy she took the pain upon herself so he could focus on dueling, the fact that, with any slip or mistake he may make, she would punish him with torture was something he tried his best to ensure he pleased Yubel. Unfortunately, there have been times that he was punished by her, and he had a feeling that punishments would only become more creative from this point. Why?

Because Jaden Yuki was not only accepted into Duel Academy, but was now representing the pecking order known as the Obelisk Blue dorm. The dorm that he and Yubel wanted to show for the next few years of their life here that they deserved to be at the top. The rank that would give them the best benefits the academy had to offer. This also meant that he had to be on his toes about anything he did, such as who he showed support for or how he dueled, for Yubel would always be watching when she was unsealed or attached to his hip while sealed in his deck-box.

_'Speaking of deserving to be at the top, I have an opening ceremony to attend.'_ With his new task set, Jaden took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and wore the standard blue trim uniform. He would eventually alter the outfit to match his style and represent Yubel like he did with his other clothes, but for now he had to wait until he could acquire some "spare" uniforms from his fellow students. With his outfit on and nothing out of the ordinary, Jaden attached the deck-box to his hip and walked out of his room. He was happy to note that his door automatically locked itself upon closing, but would eventually add his own locks to it for additional security.

Who knew what kind of crazy, thieving duelists existed in Obelisk Blue?

The walk to the opening ceremony room was interesting. Many of his fellow freshman who roamed the halls were openly pointing him out and talking about his duel with Dr. Crowler as if he was deaf to their words. About half of the students that talked about him were afraid of him, whereas others were either cautious or openly stated that they didn't believe in the supernatural duels that which the King of Games dealt with during his prime. To him, he didn't need to speak up for himself or add to any of the freshman's thoughts. In the end, everyone would know what kind of duelist he was, and nothing would stand in his way.

It wasn't long before he ended up in the ceremony room, and he realized that the main floor was where he was to join his fellow freshman. He noticed Bastion Misawa and Syrus Truesdale were politely chatting with one another, and recognized which dorms they were members of. To be honest, he wasn't surprised to see that Bastion ended up in Ra Yellow or that Syrus became a Slifer Red with the way they dueled in the exams. Hopefully Bastion would give him a challenge in the future, but Syrus... He honestly doubted the little blue teen could make him sweat in any type of challenge. Right as he was about to approach the two, the flat screen TV in front of them turned on, revealing the bald, bearded face of Chancellor Sheppard.

"Good morning and welcome my students!" The Chancellor said with a bright smile and had his eyes closed. It made Jaden wonder if this was an old recording, a new one for this particular batch, or him doing a live screening. "I'm Chancellor Sheppard, the headmaster here, and you are the best and brightest young duelists in the world! Now please, get yourselves settled in at your assigned dorms. I think you'll find them quite comfortable, depending on how you ranked of course, hahahaha!" The screen shut down to its basic logo, signaling the end of the ceremony. The freshman used this opportunity to reform with their fellow dorm mates, with the exception of Bastion and Syrus of course. Jaden wouldn't want to be rude to the first of his social links in the other dorms.

"Good morning Bastion, Syrus." Bastion gave him a polite nod and smile. Syrus, on the other hand, looked down and mumbled hello with a restrained shiver. His duel must have effected the little blue teen worse than he thought. "Have you two been able to explore much of your dorms yet?"

"N-No." Syrus replied with his head held upwards. "I came straight here after being led around the campus by a senior Slifer Red student. Apparently we're known to get lost quite easily..."

"Haha." Bastion chuckled as he brought out his PDA. Every student was assigned one, and if one was stolen or broken, it was up to the student to earn enough dueling points, or DP for short, to buy a replacement. If the thief of the stolen PDA is found, then things go differently. It was something Jaden discovered while reading some of the rules of Duel Academy. "You should take the rest of the day and learn how to use the PDA Syrus. It has everything you will need to know on it."

"Yea," Jaden decided it would be best to add in some input, and brought his PDA out as well, "like here, see this icon with a phone book on it? Now, if I was to put my PDA up against yours like a Tamagotchi and click the scan option." Within seconds both of their PDAs made a small chime sound, revealing new contact data for the two of them to be swapped. Syrus looked at the PDA in awe, allowing Jaden to grin and look at the new info he got from Syrus. "You can change the settings so people have to put in a password before getting your information, but to each their own."

"Well don't leave me left out of this bonding moment gentlemen." Bastion shared his info with Jaden and Syrus, allowing for a new bit of happiness to be seen amongst the group. A sensation that Jaden, if he was to be honest with himself, didn't know what to appreciate with this moment. Was this genuine happiness with strangers, people he planned to use? Did he see them as more than tools? "So what are you guys going to do for the rest of the day?"

"I'm going to learn this PDA and maybe check out the store they have on campus. You Bastion?"

"I'm going back to my room and will be setting up my material for classes. One can never be too prepared after all. What about you Jaden? Will you be joining your other Obelisks?" Jaden clicked his tongue in annoyance and jerked his head over to the few Obelisks who stayed in the room. It was obvious that they were talking about them, and that wasn't surprising. It was rumored in the city that Ra Yellows and Obelisk Blues were on neutral terms with each other, as were the better Slifer Red and Ra Yellow students, but for an Obelisk to associate with a Slifer on the first day? Oh Jaden was sure that he was making waves just by standing here being helpful to Syrus the Slifer. A thought reminding him about the altering he wanted to do to his uniform, and he figured that if he was creating waves, then why not make a tsunami while he was at it?

"I think I'll join Syrus and check out the store and see what they have for sale before checking out the dueling arena reserved for Obelisk Blue students. I know each dorm have dueling arenas, so eventually I'll visit the others, but home field has priority right?"

"Wait, we each have dueling arenas?" Jaden scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"At least I would assume so. With the money this academy must make, and considering this is a _dueling_ school, there should be dueling arenas, or at least designated areas for each student to duel."

"I hope so, but considering the things I've heard about the Slifer dorm... Well..." Bastion looked to the side and nodded his head to the two of them. "Well, I should be going. Best of luck to you two. Goodbye." As the Ra Yellow left, the remaining duo looked at each other and the initial signs of awkwardness began between them. A silent atmosphere that threatened to become heavy with lack of action or interaction between them.

"So, we ready to go Jaden?" Syrus, oh you can certainly be surprising with how forward you can be. Jaden nodded, and with the map application on his PDA on, the two left for the store. They got there much faster than Jaden initially thought, mostly thanks to the PDA he assumed, and tried to enter the store. Tried being the key word here. The store, much to their shock, was overflowing with students buying packs, starter decks, and other types of supplies that Jaden didn't care to note. Syrus seemed to shrink to the size of a pea with how withdrawn he became in such a large crowd, but that wasn't Jaden's problem. No, what Jaden wanted to focus on was one of the few areas of the store that were practically empty.

The arts and crafts section.

He was surprised to see that they had the leathery black material his main city outfit consisted of, and grabbed three sections of the three foot by three foot material. He also picked up enough of the blue material that matched his uniform to make pockets on the lower sides of his coat. Unlike most of his freshman, he taught himself how to sew to repair holes in his pants from kids pushing him when he was younger. After he befriended Yubel and began to learn how to duel from her, his sewing technique grew over the years. He could sew pockets with no outward impression showing he added anything to his clothes, which allowed him to stash items he didn't want to think about.

"Are you finding everything alright?" Jaden glanced behind him to see a tall, brown eyed girl with long brown hair that was covered by a white cloth. She wore a white uniform that he saw an older coworker wearing behind the counter, and assumed she worked with her here at the store.

"Would you happen to have any particular suggestions for someone hoping to make some alterations to their uniform?"

"Something not exactly right in terms of the size, because I can get you a proper fitting uniform in half an hour if you don't mind waiting in the back room."

"As much as I don't mind checking out the back, my uniform is fine. I just want to make some alterations is all." The girl looked at him for a moment before gazing at his body. He supposed she could be taking in his uniform as well, but-

_'She better not be checking you out Jaden.'_

_'Hello to you too Yubel.'_ Jaden thought with an urge to roll his eyes calling to him. Yubel normally woke up the moment she became released from the deck-box or became attached to his hip, so her responding so late was unlike her. _'And I doubt she is checking me out. She has to be, what, eighteen?'_

_'You're a teen yourself Jaden, and who knows what kind of blind eyes Obelisk Blue students get with the staff here.'_

_'YUBEL!'_

"Well, for five DP you can buy some of the personal travel sewing kits we have on stock." The girl caught Jaden's attention once again, causing him to shift his attention back to her. Hopefully he didn't express any shock at Yubel's comment. "For the professional personal sewing kits, which have fifteen different needle sizes instead of the standard seven, and come with fifty different colors instead of the standard two sets of four, which are red, yellow, blue, and white. Both come with the same amount of pins though, but the professional set come with a pair of better, longer pair of scissors that the travel pack simply can't compare."

"I take it the travel size kits are lower quality overall?"

"Not at all." The store clerk shook her head. "It's just the scissors that are included with the kit are too small and the metal should be sharpened first before attempting to cut anything. The professional travel kits, which cost twenty DP, have longer, sharp scissors that don't put strain on the fingers, which could ruin the precision of you snipping string."

_'I'll be sure to take that into consideration when I use those scissors to be precise when I slash at your throat you insolent harpie!'_

**_'YUBEL!'_**

"I'm sorry!" The girl closed her eyes and bowed. When she looked up, she had a sheepish expression on her face. "I was told to memorize the stock to the smallest of details, so I bet I came off as boring or just a nerd. Would you be interested in either of the kits?"

"It's fine...Oh, I don't know your name. I'm Jaden. Jaden Yuki." Jaden brought out his hand for a hand shake. A gesture the girl matched with a smile as they shook hands.

"I'm Seiko, but I have people call me Sadie since it's easier for some students to say around here. So about my question..."

"Hmm...I think I'll just stick with the material I have at the moment and buy a kit later on if you don't mind."

"JADEN!" The two of them turned to see Syrus, who was waving from the front of the crowd at the registers with a bag in hand. Either Syrus bought a number of booster packs, or he decided to buy card sleeves, a new deck-box, and something the size of a starter or structure deck to toy around with in. Either way, the teen had in his hand his PDA, and pointed at the exit. "I gotta go back to my dorm and find my room! I'll see you later Jaden!"

"A friend I take?" Seiko asked, causing him to smile and nod. He knew that Syrus wasn't exactly a friend at the moment. A connection for sure, but a friend? When they reached the counter Seiko opened one of the closed registers and quickly rang him up, and asked for his PDA. Confused, he handed it to her and watched as a familiar chime went off before it was given back to him. "Here at Duel Academy you pay for everything with Duel Points, some of which are given to you daily, whereas others are earned through tasks, grades, and through duels. I hope to see you again soon Jaden."

"You too Seiko." With that, Jaden left the store with a bag of material in hand. As he walked away, he was putting his PDA back in his pocket when he noticed a notification popped up. "Hmm, I wonder what this could be?" When no one was looking, he clicked on the icon and saw that, rather than one notification, it was two. The first was informing him that the welcoming ceremony dinner would occur in an hour, and a contact was added to his PDA. But, wait, that shouldn't be right. He hadn't given his PDA to anyone to share information with, and...

Wait...

_'I think I'm going to have a word or two with this woozy tonight Jaden.'_ Yubel commented as he looked at the contact page for Seiko, the newest addition to his PDA. His deck-box felt as if it was on fire, and it took all of his willpower not to throw the deck-box to the ground at the sheer rage he felt coming from it. Didn't Yubel understand that he was only focused on dueling and making a career here, not getting girl's numbers. _'Wait. You can use these as phones too Jaden? What kind of mockery is this! It completely takes the romance of taking the time and effort to meet a person and then plan things if you can do it miles away!'_

_'I'm not too sure the person who invented the telegraph, let alone the telephone and cell phone would agree with you Yubel.'_ Jaden joked with her as he walked back to the dorms to drop off his materials before heading down to the Obelisk dining hall. Unfortunately for him, his joke wasn't easing Yubel at all. If anything, she was thinking of how to destroy the PDA if he knew her well enough. So, rather than stew on the issue, he kept thinking of the delicious spread of food the Obelisk dorm must have waiting for him, such as fried shrimp! He wasn't expecting any of the upperclassmen to show up since this dinner was to be for the freshman only, but maybe there would be an upperclassmen giving them some welcoming words and advice to ensure they'd be the best?

* * *

><p>The dining hall, despite the dinner not occurring for another half hour, was already filled with plenty of Obelisk Blue students standing around everywhere except the table. Jaden assumed that it was either rude or improper to sit at the table waiting for food. Most likely made them look like commoners, or something like that. It wasn't as if Jaden cared about the opinions of others at this point since a dinner wouldn't change how people saw him. Dueling, on the other hand, can do a lot to a person, their reputation, and the way others saw them. Jaden glanced around the area and saw Kaiser Ryo and the blonde haired girl that stood by him during the dueling exam coming towards the table from the opposite side. It seemed that the other freshman caught sight of the two and became quiet as they got closer to the table. No, that wasn't exactly right.<p>

They were getting closer to _him_.

"So you're the Cursed Duelist, am I right?" The Kaiser asked. Their eyes met, and Jaden knew that he was looking at a cold, seasoned duelist that wouldn't hold anything back. He would rip his opponents to shreds if given the opportunity, and leave nothing but an empty shell behind. This person, right before his very eyes, was someone that Jaden wanted to duel right now!

"My name is Jaden Yuki. That title means nothing to me." The blonde raised an eyebrow and glanced at the freshman that stared at them. Knowing his luck, they were holding their breaths not wanting to disturb the conversation that was about to take place.

"To everyone else at the dorm, Jaden, your title means trouble. Do you even know what you did to Dr. Crowler?" Jaden couldn't help but to snicker at that. The blonde and Kaiser didn't seem to like that, for they glared at him seconds after the first snicker came from his lips.

"What's so funny freshman?"

_'Oh? Going to use the title to assert dominance over me hm?'_ Jaden smiled and leaned on the table with his elbows on the table. With the knuckles of his hands under his chin, his head wouldn't be lowered from looking at the two in front of him. He didn't want to miss any reactions he would get from these two. "It isn't my fault that the doctor got mad at the laughter the freshman of this year gave him and attacked my monster without considering what it might be able to do."

"Oh yes, because it's fair to use a monster that has never existed before."

"Never existed before hm?" Jaden stared at the blonde, who glared at him with her arms crossed under her bust. An impressive bust, but that didn't matter at the moment. "That's strange, considering it not only is a proper Duel Monster card, but works on official Kaiba Corp. gear, which must mean that it has to be real. Regardless, it isn't my fault that Dr. Crowler doesn't know every card in the game, but should he? I don't think so. If he did, then he would actually be in an asylum due to overworking his brain with all that knowledge. Could you imagine..."

"You're not worthy of talking to Alexis you ruffian!" When he saw the two upperclassman look past his shoulders, Jaden took that as his cue to turn to see the culprit, and he wasn't impressed by what he saw. It was a teenage boy with pale skin, black hair that spiked over the right side of his face, and just had one of those faces you couldn't help but want to punch. "So apologize for the sarcasm you're unfairly giving her!"

"Two things." Jaden began as he stood up and walked closer to the guy. "First, Alexis can fight her own battles for her, so don't insult her by trying to fight her battles." At this the angry guy seemed to get even more infuriated. A reaction that Jaden didn't mind at this point. He could use this as a moment to put his foot down against the other freshman, and it wasn't like this opportunity would come up again. "Second, ruffian? Are you Dr. Crowler's pet parrot or something? I didn't expect for anyone else to use that word but him."

"Grrr, shut your mouth ruffian!"

"Yea!" Two students, a light green haired teen wearing glasses and a tanned fellow with short, spiky hair, spoke from the front of the crowd. "Show him who is boss Chazz!" The now identified Chazz smirked and pointed at Jaden with his left arm, proudly displaying his duel disk at the same time.

"See, the way I see things ruffian, your duel with Crowler was nothing but luck!" Whispers broke out through the surrounding freshman at the claim. Luck? Well all duels relied on luck that was true, but winning by luck despite the field advantage Jaden had?

"Care to tell me what you mean by that Polly, or do you need a cracker first?" Chazz widened his eyes in pure rage as he stomped on the ground.

"_MY_ name is not _POLLY_! And I think I'll show how lucky you were in your duel by challenging you to a duel right here and now!"

"Chazz," Jaden turned to Alexis, who was shaking her head, "don't be an idiot. The dinner will be starting twenty minutes, and that's excluding the five minutes the waiters will take to place all of the food on the table. Face it, you won't be able to duel right here and now." Jaden heard Chazz scoff and activated his duel disk. At the sight of the classic duel academy duel disk being turned on, Jaden grinned a wicked smile that Yubel would be proud of and made his own come to life.

"Alexis, it'll only take five minutes to take care of this ruffian, let alone twenty!"

"Yea Alexis." Jaden interrupted as he slid his deck into his duel disk. He could feel Yubel's happiness as his duel disk shuffled his cards. "It'll only take five or so minutes to wipe the floor with Chazz."

"I've had ENOUGH OF YOU!" Chazz roared as he drew his five cards. Jaden did the same, and glanced at his hand quick enough to not show whether his hand was a good one or not. He didn't need Chazz to catch on and plan cautiously around him. "I'm going to wipe the floor with you, Cursed Duelist, and send you to Slifer Red where you belong!"

"Lets duel!"

Jaden: 4000 Chazz: 4000

"And I'll start things off, DRAW!" With a draw from his deck, Chazz slammed a card on his duel disk. "I summon **Chthonian Soldier** in attack mode!" An armored monster with a large, steel blade who wore a torn robe around its waist appeared in front of Chazz.

**Chthonian Soldier** (Warrior Type/Dark/Level 4/Atk-1200 Def-1400)

"I'll set a card and end my turn. Lets see what you got ruffian!" Jaden brought up his left hand and made a mouth motion with it.

_"Lets see what you got ruffian."_ Jaden said in a nosily tone and a silly grin on his face. This seemed to piss off Chazz even more, as well as the two students who cheered Chazz earlier. A reaction that made Jaden even happier to see. "Do you even hear yourself Chazz? That is what you sound like."

"Is not!"

"It is you little parrot, but lets see what I have in store for you. Draw!" Jaden plucked his new card and gave it a nod. "First I activate a card that should look familiar to everyone. **Hand Destruction**!"

"Tch, that card again." Chazz picked two cards and sent them to the grave, an action Jaden happily copied. With that done, they drew two new cards, and Jaden was happy to make use of one of them.

"With that done, I normal summon **Archfiend Cavalry** in attack mode!" A thin skeleton wearing red armor appeared on Jaden's side of the field. It rode on an undead horse that wore a brown version of its rider's armor. The skeleton held in its left hand a lance made of a large spinal chord, and it was currently pointed at Chazz's monster.

**Archfiend Cavalry** (Fiend Type/Dark/Level 4/ Atk-1900 Def-0)

"No way! A monster with 1900 attack on the first turn!" An Obelisk Blue student shouted from the crowd.

"It makes you wonder what kind of other monsters are hidden in his deck..."

"Now I'll have my **Archfiend Calvary** attack your soldier. Pierce it through its spine!" The skeleton knight raised its lance into the air, making the horse cry out before it dashed towards the **Chthonian Soldier** and allowed its rider to do as it was told. The sword the **Chthonian Soldier** had flung itself through Jaden, causing him to look down at his life points curiously.

Jaden: 3300 Chazz: 3300

"Hah, how do you like that ruffian?" Chazz asked as he sent his destroyed monster to the grave. "Whenever my monster is destroyed by battle, you take the same amount of battle damage I took. So you just injured yourself for nothing!" Jaden shook his head.

"No, it wasn't for nothing. Now you have one monster less on your field, whereas I still have a monster. Either way, it won't matter for long. I'll set two cards and end my turn."

"Let me show you what a student of Obelisk Blue is capable of!" Chazz started his turn with a new card in his hand, and smirked once again. "I'll start things off by activating my face down, **Call of the Haunted**!" A trap card depicting a cold graveyard filled with various tombstones was revealed. "I get to revive a monster from my graveyard in attack mode, and I'll pick my **Chthonian Soldier**!" The revived monster growled and swung its sword around for a moment. "But he won't be staying for long, since I'm sending him to the graveyard to summon **Helpoemer**!" A blue withered husk bound to a gold tombstone appeared. It had no eyes, but it had several mouths that were open in desperation for freedom. At least, that was the feeling Jaden got from the card.

**Helpoemer** (Fiend Type/Dark/ Level 5/ Atk-2000 Def-1400)

"And now I'll have it attack your little horse rider!"

"Actually..." Jaden spoke up as Chazz's monster screamed in agony, releasing a visual echo of its screams at Jaden's monster, destroying it. "Thanks for helping me out buddy! Remind me later to give you a cracker polly!"

"What do you mean I 'helped' you, and don't call me polly!"

"It's simple." Jaden grinned and activated one of his set cards. "You see, I can only activate this card when a monster on my side of the field has been destroyed by battle, and the card is called **Option Hunter**! It allows me to gain life points equal to the original attack of my destroyed monster, which was 1900!"

Jaden: 5100 Chazz: 3300

"So now, thanks to you, I'm not only filled life point wise, but I have some extra to play around with. But don't mind me parrot, it's still your turn." Chazz, much to Jaden's pleasure, was visibly shaking as the Obelisk Blue students around them were talking even louder than before.

"He _is_ from the Princeton family right? So why is he being played like a Slifer?"

"Hahaha, and to think he came from some high end dueling prep school! It obviously hasn't done him any good!"

"Wow, who would have thought that Obelisk students didn't have any idea of being like family?" Jaden spoke aloud as he glanced at Alexis and the Kaiser. Both of them, he noted, were focused on the duel, and hadn't said a single thing this duel so far. It made him think what could be going through their heads at the moment.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTHS EVERYONE!" Jaden turned around to see a furious Chazz Princeton. A furious student who waved his hand at him. "I end my turn, but mark my words ruffian. You're going down!"

"Yea, alright, down for a face down perhaps! Draw!" Jaden drew his card, and shook his head at what he got. "Oh wow..." Right as Chazz was about to say something, Jaden played the card he drew. "Just my luck! I play **Pot of Greed**, allowing me to draw two more cards!" With that said, he drew two more cards, enjoying the annoyed look that Chazz currently wore. "Next I'll play my own **Call of the Haunted** and bring Yubel from my graveyard to the field in attack mode!" Yubel appeared in a small whirlwind of her own creation, having her third eye open first, which scared some of the Obelisk Blue students before she opened her main pair. He took a moment to appreciate the beauty that no one else could ever understand, and proceeded with his turn.

Yubel (Fiend Type/Dark/Level 10/Atk-0 Def-0)

"Next I activate **Fires of Doomsday** (Fiend Type/Dark/Level 1/Atk-0 Def-0), which allows me to special summon two Doomsday Tokens in exchange for me only being able to summon other monsters this turn, but I can set, which is what I'll do with this card!" Two black flames with a single eye appeared next to Yubel in defense mode, which a single set card appeared on the field. With nothing else, Jaden set another card and proceeded to place another card in his back row before continuing with the last part of his turn. "Now, in order for me to keep Yubel on my side of the field, I must tribute a monster, and the monster I select is my set card, which is **Sangan**. Due to **Sangan** being sent-"

"Just pick your monster you ruffian!" Jaden happily picked a monster and added it to his hand, watching as his duel disk shuffled his deck for a moment before looking at Chazz. What would his opponent do? He would most likely go for the tokens with **Helpoemer**, and he was sure that Chazz had another monster he could bring out as well. So it all came down to trying to understand what Chazz would do at this point. "Your field may be nearly field, but the monsters you have are nothing but weak, pathetic monsters Yuki! DRAW!"

_'Chazz, you don't know anything do you?'_ Jaden though to himself as he watched Chazz slap a card on his duel disk.

"I summon **Dark Blade** in attack mode!" A warrior wearing black armor with three silver talons upon each shoulder appeared next to **Helpoemer**. With a dark red cape and two sharp swords in hand, the monster looked like a fierce opponent to face.

**Dark Blade** (Warrior Type/Dark/Level 4/Atk-1800 Def-1500)

"Now I'll have my **Dark Blade** and **Helpoemer** attack your two tokens!"

"I'm going to activate the quick play known as **Mirage Tube**!" As Jaden revealed one of his set cards, a rainbow colored tube appeared on the ground in front of Yubel. At the sight of the tube Yubel channeled some duel energy into her right fist and punched the tube, sending a burst of energy at Chazz. When the energy made contact with Chazz, a blue eruption of energy hid the arrogant Obelisk Blue student from view, but did nothing to hide the sudden depletion of his life points. "When you target one of my monsters for an attack, this dishes out a thousand points of damage straight to your face!"

Jaden: 5100 Chazz: 2300

When the cloud of energy disappeared, it revealed Chazz wearing a slightly singed Obelisk Blue uniform with what looked to be embers lit around his pant legs. As if to show that the embers were real, small trails of smoke began to come from them, causing Chazz's two fans to scream and throw a pitcher of juice at him.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO IDIOTS DOING!" The two looked at each other and pointed at Chazz's legs.

"B-b-but Chazz!" The two began at the same time. "Y-Your legs were-"

"Shut it!" Chazz turned back to Jaden, who was grinning with glee as the only monster left on his side of the field was Yubel and the **Call of the Haunted** that kept her on the field. Seeing how empty it was, a laugh came out from him. "With only that monster on your side of the field, I'll eventually come across a way to get rid of your precious monster. Your time is near ruffian!"

"No where as near as your defeat polly, WRAK, DRAW!" With a new card in hand, Jaden grinned at what he now had. "Just what the vet ordered. I play **Double Summon**, which allows me to normal summon twice this turn. I'll first normal summon a **Sangan** (Fiend Type/Dark/Level 3/ Atk-1000 Def-600), but he won't be staying for long as I'm tributing him for **Dark Ruler Ha Des** in attack mode!" One of the original terrors of the Fiend lore of Duel Monsters, the **Dark Rules Ha Des** appeared wearing formal robes with a giant skull below his chest. With the small, purple face right below his green head, some who study the lore are confused as to which face is his true face.

**Dark Ruler Ha Des** (Fiend Type/Dark/Level 6/Atk-2450 Def-1600)

"Wow, what a powerful combination he just pulled..." Jaden heard Alexis whisper from behind him. Something about what she said made him even more eager to defeat Chazz. If she was thinking how impressive that combo was, then what were the other Obelisk students thinking? That very thought got him excited to see what would come next in this duel!

"I hope you're prepared Chazz, because I'm about to bring to you a whole world of hurt! Now attack this peon before you and rid us of **Helpoemer**!" Dark Ruler Ha Des conjured a wine glass filled with green liquid and threw it at Chazz's monster. The bound creature released a final scream as it melted into a pile of goo before disappearing from the field.

Jaden: 5100 Chazz: 1850

"And, before you begin to chirp any comments about me having to sacrifice either Yubel or my Dark Ruler before the end of my turn, I'm activating a second copy of **Fires of Doomsday**, allowing me to put on the field two more Doomsday tokens in defense mode before I end!"

"Grrr, draw!" Chazz drew another card as Yubel consumed one of the Doomsday tokens. An action that pleased Yubel to no end, Jaden was sure of. "I'll switch my **Dark Blade** to defense mode (1500), set a monster, and end my turn."

"My turn then." Jaden drew his card and revealed it to Chazz. "Since it is now my first main phase, I can banish **Evil HERO Infernal Gainer** from my hand and target a Fiend monster I control, such as **Dark Ruler Ha Des**, and it can attack twice that turn." An astral image of a sinister, muscular purple and red monster with six red eyes flew into **Dark Ruler Ha Des**, making it take on a purple aura that reeked of evil. Ah, what a beautiful sight to see. "With that, I'm summoning **Doomcaliber Knight** in attack mode!" A skeletal knight wearing black armor with a black horse wearing skeletal armor like its rider appeared. With a sinister looking sword and a shield looking like the skull of an alien, the monster was certainly horrifying.

**Doomcaliber Knight** (Fiend Type/Dark/Level 4/Atk-1900 Def-1800)

"Clear the field for Doomcaliber **Dark Ruler Ha Des**!" This time a blast of purple energy took out **Dark Blade** and the set monster, revealing itself to be another **Chthonian Soldier**. Before its pixels disappeared, **Doomcaliber Knight** jumped over the pixels and stabbed through Chazz's head, making him drop to the ground with his eyes wider than dinner plates. As the ding of life points depleting to zero occurred and the dueling holograms disappeared, Yubel turned to him and gave him a dull look before she disappeared with the others. _'I'm going to assume that she was bored with Chazz and how hesitant he was to attack after a while. Yubel just needs to realize that she, as a high class monster, will make people hesitant to willingly attack her.'_

"So strange..." Jaden turned to see who said that odd line, only to see Alexis and Kaiser walking away from him. As he stared at them walking away, he heard the main entrance open, revealing Dr. Crowler without his duel coat on with a line of waiters and waitresses with carts of food following behind his every step. Jaden glanced at Chazz, who quickly sat near the end of one of the nearby tables with his two friends sitting next to him. As everyone sat at their tables and most likely whispered about the duel that they witnessed before Dr. Crowler would begin to speak, Jaden couldn't help but to think about the last thing he heard before Alexis and the Kaiser walked away. What exactly was so strange about him?

-Author Note-

**Nightlance44:** The pairing is undecided at the moment, but Jaden and Yubel are the main focus of this story at the moment.

**Rafel666:** Hopefully the flashback at the start of this chapter wasn't too twisted for you. Either way, thank you for your kind review, and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as well!

To the readers and followers, thank you for taking the opportunity to read the first chapter of The Cursed Duelist, and I certainly hope you'll like this chapter as well. To me, this chapter includes several important things, such as more of Jaden's past with his early dueling career and more insight with Yubel's personality. It also had interaction between him, Syrus, and Bastion to become the "trio" of unity between the dorms. The PDA scene is important to me since I never understood in the anime how Chazz could have gotten Jaden's contact information without some sort of instant sensory application or using some Obelisk Blue connections to get the info. Either way, I felt that I answered that oddity in a decent manner.

Plus, it oddly gave me a reason to give the store a bit more worth with the scene between him and Seiko. Seeing a bit of jealous Yubel is always humorous to see in any sort of story in my opinion. As for the rest of the chapter, well, there isn't much to say. Jaden gets introduced to Alexis in an odd way, but still hasn't been formally introduced to Zane, and Chazz got his duel with the ruffian. A duel that ended with him losing due to monsters other than Yubel. Either way, I certainly can't wait to write out the next chapter! It's certainly going to be quite heroic, that's for sure!

So, until next time everyone, stay golden!  
>Kazikamikaze24<p> 


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